Time Stood Still
by bitchy brunette
Summary: Buffy and Angel are listening to the radio.


A/N: Uh, yeah. Like anyone reads this anyway. Oh, wait! I do have something to say! This weekend at the mall, I say a REAL claddagh in a jewelry cart. You know one of the mobile things in the mall aisles? And guess what I'm asking for X-Mas!   
Archive: You want it?  
Disclaimer: Not mine!  
Questions, comments, flames: kimmie@quincymail.com   
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy leaned back into the comfortable sofa in the Angel Investigations office. She wasn't sure why she was there, only that Giles had called her during dinner. Buffy had been dragged out to some restaurant, and she and Riley had been eating. Well, Riley had been eating; Buffy had been staring at her Caesar salad. The ringing of her cell had saved the day, allowing her to mutter something about being needed and running away from that empty shell of a human. Sitting here was torture. Cordelia had rushed upstairs to inform Angel of the arrival, and Buffy wasn't looking forward to the reunion. It had been about a year and 3 months (but whose keeping count?) since Buffy and Angel last talked. Buffy heard footsteps on the stairs, and Cordy's high pitched, whining voice. As Angel walked into the room, Buffy noticed the radio on a nearby desk was playing softly.   
  
Despair / Regret / And tenderness / Is what I feel for you / I loved you from the very start / What else could I do?  
  
Buffy remembered the first time she'd seen Angel. It seemed like so long ago. She'd been so naive then.  
  
You read my mind / You made me cry / Time stood still  
  
If only time could stand still. Then she'd still be with Angel, and everything would be ok. Now, her life was like a large puddle of mud. Clear on top, until someone came by and walked through it, stirring the water and mud, causing the surface to become cloudy, murky. Riley had walked through her, and he'd never understand.  
  
And now I know the reasons why / Time stood still / Maybe you're the next best thing / To have and / All the things we might have been   
  
Angel looked at Buffy's blank expression. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't about him. Or their past, interesting as it was. Some days, the past was all he thought about. It seemed so bright…  
  
A flame becomes a fading light / That burns inside my heart / And like a castle in the sand / It had to fall apart   
  
Angel sat at the desk. It was over now, and that was all that mattered. Everything he did was in Buffy's best interests, because he does love her. Angel looked over at the slayer again, trying to etch her face into his mind. It had been a long time, and after this business meeting, it'd probably be even longer till he saw her again.  
  
You made me laugh / You gave me hope / It's over now / Our happiness went up in smoke / It's over now  
  
Buffy tried not to stare at Angel. Cordelia was obviously having a good time with the awkwardness level of the meeting. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy could see her smirking to keep back giggles. How could she laugh about a broken heart? Buffy had tried to deny it, but Angel had taken a piece of her with him when he said goodbye.   
  
Maybe you're the next best thing / To have and / All the things we might have been / Maybe you're the next best thing / To have and / All the things we might have been   
  
Buffy felt her eyes fill at the complete hopelessness of her situation. And at the despair in the song's lyrics. She thought of the claddagh on a chain around her neck fleetingly. 'We could've been so much, Angel, if you would've just given us a chance.'  
  
Maybe we're the next best thing / To have and / All the things we might have been / Maybe you're the next bast thing / To have and / All the things we might have been   
  
The pair pushed the thoughts they were having aside, and got down to business. There wasn't time for personal lamenting, while there were still vampires and other baddies to deal with. A sigh formed in Buffy's throat, but she   
struggled to repress it. Angel shouldn't know what he'd done, how much he affected her. Her mind wandered much of the time Angel was talking.  
Angel's mind wasn't focused on the facts of the demon. He was thinking of her again, of them. 'But now's not the time,' he silently  
reproached himself, fighting to keep the sigh from escaping his lips.   
  
FIN  



End file.
